Grounded theory studies rely on visits to the field site—whether through interviews, observations, or chat logs—and data analysis begins when the researcher is still in the field. The researcher moves back and forth between collecting new data and comparing it to the emerging themes in the data, a process known as constant comparison. As the researcher begins to generate theory, he or she is involved in an initial coding stage, called open coding. In open coding, the researcher takes data and segments it into multiple categories. The second step is axial coding, where the researcher identifies a core concept and returns to the data to better understand how the concept is represented within the data. The final step, selective coding, is where the researcher takes the central concept and relates it back to other categories so that the central concept becomes more refined.
Grounded theory has been used to understand the experiences of students learning in online environments (Crittendon, 2006; Feeler, 2012; Gerber & Price, 2013; Yalof, 2014). For example, in order to understand in-service teachers’ perceptions of games-based learning as a teaching practice, Gerber and Price (2013) conducted a grounded theory analysis of teachers’ discussion boards to better understand teachers’ views of games-based learning within literacy classrooms. Relying on discussion board logs, Gerber and Price studied thirteen teachers enrolled in a graduate class on videogames and literacy. Using constant comparison analysis (featuring open, axial, and selective coding), they analyzed over one hundred discussion boards to gain an understanding of teachers’ views. The use of constant comparison allowed the researchers to continually reformulate their thoughts and theories, as grounded in the discussion board data, and it facilitated the emergence of themes related to collegial surveillance and the lack of available professional development opportunities.
Phenomenology
Phenomenology is rooted in the work of German philosopher Edmund Husserl and is focused on understanding the lived experience of participants in relation to a given phenomenon. For example, Leander and Boldt’s (2013) account of two children playing with manga stories, related toys, and trading cards showed how literacy activities may not always be deliberately designed, but may be improvisational and responsive to current, changing emotions and play conditions. Similarly, Wargo (2015) documented how a participant used smartphone apps like Snapchat and Map My Walk, as well as the gestures that dictate their use (e.g., swiping, tapping), to create, re-create, compose, and share experiential narratives.
According to Creswell (2013) there are two types of phenomenology: hermeneutical phenomenology (van Manen, 1990) and transcendental phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994). Hermeneutical phenomenology is oriented toward understanding the lived experiences by researching the texts of life, which are referred to as the hermeneutics. According to the approach used by Max van Manen, researchers first identify a phenomenon, reflect on essential themes, and maintain a personal connection to these happenings. In their study of the online educators’ experiences, De Gagne and Walters (2010) employed a hermeneutic phenomenological approach in order to gain insight into participants’ narrative accounts. This allowed for a reflection on “how they interpret and express their experiences through interviews” (Polit & Beck, 2004, p. 358).
Given that “phenomenology is not only a description, but also an interpretive process in which the research makes an interpretation... of the meaning of the lived experiences” (Creswell, 2013, p. 80), Clark Moustakas’s transcendental phenomenology seeks to keep researchers’ interpretations separate from the data. In so doing, transcendental phenomenology begins with researchers “describing their own experiences with the phenomenon and bracketing out their views before proceeding with the experiences of others” (Creswell, 2013, p. 80), thereby acknowledging preconceptions prior to data collection and analysis.
Participatory Approaches
Though not an established tradition, and often combined with aforementioned approaches, participatory research is used by researchers who wish to privilege participant voices, reduce researcher bias, and engage in “translocal” understanding (Burnett, Davies, Merchant, & Rowsell, 2014). Rooted in a nonconforming perspective of research design (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), participatory learning encourages participants to be part of the research, from its conceptualization to the dissemination of findings. Some researchers have suggested that participatory approaches are crucial for overturning power dynamics inherent in traditional research approaches (Bergold & Thomas, 2012; Morrell, 2006; Onwuegbuzie & Frels, 2013).
Researchers using participatory approaches often strive to empower underrepresented, underserved, marginalized, or oppressed individuals and groups. For instance, when Michelle Fine and colleagues (2005) engaged in an “ethnographic analysis of the political economy of schooling as lived by youth in and around the New York City metropolitan area” (p. 500), they purposely included youth researchers who “played a vital role in determining the research design, questions, methods, interpretations and products” of the study (p. 501). In so doing, they found that the youth-as-researchers developed critical stances related to racism and social justice. Fine and colleagues featured some of the youth researchers’ reflections and discoveries, such as, “I used to see flat. No more... now I know things are much deeper than they appear. And it’s my job to find out what’s behind the so-called facts. I can’t see flat anymore” (p. 523). This suggests that participatory research could inspire a critical awakening among youth-as-researchers.
Critical dialectical pluralism (CDP) is a research philosophy that embraces the ethos of participatory research. In particular, critical dialectical pluralism creates pathways for participants to be maximally involved as researchers throughout the process, especially with respect to the dissemination and utilization of the findings (Onwuegbuzie & Frels, 2013). Adopting a CDP stance, Gerber, Abrams, Onwuegbuzie, and Benge (2014) worked collaboratively with adolescent participants to understand their engagement with multiple online and offline gaming resources as used in a public school remedial reading class. Given that the research took place during the school day, the participatory approach underscored the disruption of power dynamics between the teacher and the student, as well as between the researcher and the participant. The CDP stance allowed the research team to collaboratively trace learning across these resources and spaces, while honoring the perspectives and voices of participants through the entire research process—from conceptualization through research dissemination.
Participatory approaches may suggest that power structures and hierarchies can be eliminated, but such a stance seems idyllic and inaccurate because the reality is that youth-driven research participation remains under adult auspices. Barry Checkoway and Lorraine Gutiérrez (2006) underscore this point in their introduction to their edited volume on youth participation. Not only did they acknowledge the benefits of participatory research, but also they addressed the possible limitations: “Although participation initiatives might be youth-led, adult-led, or intergenerational in their origins, we recognize that none of the ones described here is truly youth-led. However, we reiterate that the quality of participation is not contingent on this approach” (p. 6). These concerns should not undermine participatory research; rather, they remind researchers to be cognizant of inherent power structures, thoughtful of their own presuppositions, and careful in their approach to include participant voices and decisions.
Research Paradigms and Philosophical Stances in a Study’s Design
Creswell (2012) relied on the metaphor of a loom to address the traits of qualitative research. Creswell stated that qualitative research is like
an intricate fabric composed of minute threads, many colors, different textures, and various blends of material. This fabric is not explained easily or simply. Like the loom on which fabric is woven, general assumptions and interpretive frameworks hold qualitative